Already competitive, still paying too much

Most cost work starts with part price. Value analysis and value engineering (VA/VE) start with function: what does each part actually do for the customer?

One product. A clear job plan. A guiding digital agent beside you. Your team still owns the yes.

In 2021 I trained and facilitated a VA/VE program at a Tier 1 automotive supplier to all the major OEMs. Competitor teardown said the design was already competitive. The savings were still there — material, redesign, and sourcing — and the bigger win was writing VA/VE into the standards so the next product starts cheaper. Product savings were on average 15%.

Pick your highest-volume product with the thinnest margin. Take one part off it and ask: "What does this do for the customer?" If nobody can answer in one sentence, start there.

BMA and Chiles & Company run VA/VE events — and Max Lean Six Sigma puts that same discipline in software, with a guiding digital agent, so the standard sticks after the event ends.

The apps can be purchased from gotbots.si. More on advisory work at biltmoremanagementadvisors.si.

Which product would you put on the table first? Reply and tell me. I read every one.

Chris Chiles Chiles & Company (828) 521-0297 · chris@biltmorema.com gotbots.si · biltmoremanagementadvisors.si Chiles & Company, the process and digital improvement expert for manufacturing and distribution. MaxKnowledge™, the Recursive Improvement Platform™.